6552 Turns
by facadeforyou1212
Summary: He knew he was starting something with that kiss, something new, dangerous, and unknown. But men who are in love are often willing to take risks, especially when they don’t even know they’ve begun to fall...
1. Prolouge

Author's Note: Well, I've started a new story. I got inspired at some point yesterday and while I was supposed to be spending time with my family, I wrote. I wrote until midnight, and this is what I came up with. The first chapter may be confusing, but hopefully you'll get it. The very beginning is some point during seventh year and the next part is the end of the year. _Half Blood Prince_ has nothing to do with this story.

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Any familiar names, places, plots, and ideas belong to J.K. Rowling and Scholastic Inc.

Let the story begin…

"You, you look amazing, Granger." His lips brushed against hers, barely grazing her soft mouth. Her first kiss. And in some ways, his as well.

He knew he was starting something with that kiss, something new, dangerous, and unknown. But men who are in love are often willing to take risks, especially when they don't even know they've begun to fall.

_End of Seventh Year, the night of graduation, Astronomy Tower, 11:54 pm_

"You, you're amazing, Hermione. I love you. Don't ever forget that. I promise you I will always love you. No matter what. Our for better or for worse. This…this is our "for worse," but someday we'll have a "for better." I promise." His voice broke and Hermione could see the tears welling up in his eyes. "There has to be. We have to be. This just…It can't happen now."

Hermione felt her own hot tears sliding down her face, mixing with the rain surrounding them. "Draco, I…I don't understand. It has already happened. We have happened. You can't just pretend that this past year didn't exist."

"But what if it didn't? What if everything was just a little bit different. We would never happen. This who fucked up thing wouldn't have to happen."

"You can't just erase the past Draco. Its always going to be there."

"Don't you get it, Granger? It doesn't have to have happened. In a few minutes, our seventh year won't have happened."

"Time," she said quietly as his plan dawned on her. "You're turning back time."

Draco smirked, the almost-smile gracing his features for a fleeting second. "Well, I'm not turning back time. I'm not nearly powerful enough. Dumbledore is. A special time-turner, developed by the man himself. 6552 turns. One for every hour of our seventh year. 273 days, from September first to midnight tonight, June first."

"What? … How long? How long do we have?" Hermione felt herself getting angry. Angry at Draco for wanting to erase their past, angry at Dumbledore for helping him, angry at herself for caring so much about a man she used to hate, and angry at fate for having them fall in love, for having the dark win, and for having to make them do it all again. She let her eyes leave the man she loved, gazing about at the beautiful view fro the top of the Astronomy tower where they stood. She drew in a shaky breath. "When do we go back?"

"Exactly mid-night. 3 minutes, 37 seconds. Hermione, I want you to know some things before we go back. Even though you won't remember any of this, I need you to hear this, to understand why. Hermione, you'll wake up on the day 7th year begins. You won't remember any of this past year. You won't remember our love, the war… only your memories from before September first. Though it pains me to say this, we'll hate each other. We have to.

"You have to be strong Hermione. Be strong for me, for Potter, for the world. So much is resting on this, on us. If we never fall in love than my father will never hunt us down. If he never hunts us down, Harry doesn't die. And if Harry doesn't die, than the Light side still has a chance." He looked into her eyes, knowing that soon he would be the horrible person he once was. The horrible, mudblood hating man that he was supposed to become.

He captured her lips in one last pure and innocent kiss, his hand grabbing hers. One for them to remember…or not.

An old man stepped suddenly from the shadows, his half-moon shaped spectacles glinting in the dim light. The two lovers broke apart and looked at the man who'd been their mentor for the past seven years.

"It's time, Draco. One last turn and we will all go back. Would you to make the last turn?" Dumbledore asked.

Draco stretched out his free hand and took the small glass time turner filled with sand.

Suddenly, the young women beside him spoke, her voice becoming more excited and elevated as the words flowed from her mouth. "Wait! It…we can't go back! If we all go back, no one will remember and it will all just happen again! It won't be any use at all!"

"Ah, Miss Granger. You truly are the brightest witch of your time. But you see, they also called me the brightest wizard of my time. I already thought of that little nuance. It is true that no one _should_ remember any of this past year, but, Miss Granger, you forget that I forget nothing. I will remember, or should I say foresee, what happened and what could happen and some small changes will be made. Small, yet life altering changes.

"One more, Draco. One more."

As Draco stared at the glass, Hermione stood at his side, sobbing quietly. "I won't forget. I love you," she repeated over and over, as their last few second together slipped away.

"I love you too," was all that Draco said as he flipped his hand.

Then all was quiet as he was put back into the dreamless sleep he had been having nearly one year ago.


	2. A New Beginning

_Draco Malfoy's Bedroom, Malfoy Manor, September 1, 7:30 AM_

Draco's eyes shot open as his magically programmed alarm clock went off at the absurdly early time of 7:30.

He glanced around him at his lavishly decorated room, wondering why in the world he would be waking up this early. He had been having a wonderful dream about kissing a beautiful girl, though she was face-less, and really wanted to go back to sleep. He rolled over in his bed, onto his back staring up at his ceiling. He couldn't shake the feeling of confusion over not knowing who the girl of his dreams was.

He felt as though he was forgetting something. Something very important. Something that had to do with his dream. He just couldn't place his finger on it.

He lay in bed pondering for a few moments longer when he realized why he was awake so early. Today was the first day of his seventh year at Hogwarts.

Deciding that his feeling of not realizing something must have been the start of school, he walked to his bathroom to prepare for what promised to be a very long day.

--

_Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, September 1, 7:30 AM_

"Minerva, we need to talk," Dumbledore strode quickly into his office where his most trusted confidant, Minerva McGonacgall sat.

"Albus, what's wrong?" the slightly elderly woman asked.

"Last night- well, I suppose it wasn't really last night- something happened. Something big. I'm afraid we will need to make some changes."

"Albus? What is going on? What do you mean, changes? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing. Not yet anyway." He smiled at the woman in front of him. "Minerva, this year will be- well, it could be- very devastating to the Wizarding world. Minerva, do you believe in fate?"

"Well, I suppose. I mean, I know that we decide our future, but some things must happen. Why? What is this all about?"

"If fate were to take its planned course, right now we would be waking up in our summer homes, 9 months from now. I—" The old man looked around his office as if to check for any eavesdroppers. "Minerva, _I turned back time_."

--

_Platform 9 ¾, Kings Cross Station, London, England, September 1, 11:00 AM_

Harry Potter stood out among the many bodies in the station. It wasn't because of his scar (they were in muggle territory) or because he had once defeated Lord Voldemort. It wasn't because of what he was doing. It was because of whom he was with.

He was surrounded by many people, two layers of them really. The first consisted of his two best friends and his friend's little sister, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny and four aurors. The aurors stood around them on all sides, acting as his security detail. The second layer, somewhat larger, was what was drawing the attention to him. They were seemingly dressed like idiots, wearing dress-like garments that the muggles had never seen before and had ridiculously bright red hair.

The inner group was dressed more appropriately (as they were very experienced with the type of situation) and soon realized that they would have a problem making it through the wall without causing a panic. They quickly came up with a plan and soon the group was leaning casually against the wall between platforms 9 and 10, one by one slowly falling through. They did it in such a way that the crowd just thought that the group was dispersing and didn't realize a thing.

Harry Potter didn't like any more attention than he absolutely needed, seeing as he got enough of it on a regular basis. It was enough to have to go anywhere in the wizarding world with people recognizing you, but having almost the same thing happen in the muggle world was nearly too much. It was a relief to him when he tumbled back through the wall, until he saw Draco Malfoy.

--

Hermione Granger, also at the center of the tight circle, was also relieved to fall through the barrier. She was excited for her last year at Hogwarts to begin. She had (obviously) been made Head Girl and was looking forward to all of the year's possibilities.

She had changed somewhat over the summer, though she would deny it vehemently to anyone who remarked upon it. Her teeth had straightened after years of Invisiline and her hair now fell in fairly tight curls. She had grown to the height of 5' 8" and was incredibly skinny although she ate as if she were much larger than she was. Her breasts were a large size B and though she tried to ignore them, she received many the stare from Ron and Harry.

Hermione didn't think of either of the boys as anything special and she knew they felt the same, but with only two girls in the house all summer, they needed something to do. For most of the summer she had spent her time at the burrow. She had spent the first two weeks however, with her parents. Her parents were always very happy to see her after her year at school and showed their affection in ways like buying Hermione a lot of new clothes. Hermione hated the attention that her parents gave her, but in the end she was forced to give in to their kind ways.

The four friends, Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Ginny said goodbye to the rest of the Weasleys and were escorted to the door of the train by their entourage. The aurors helped them get their things onto the train and then they were gone, disappearing into the crowd of adults saying goodbye to their kids.

The foursome searched the train for an empty compartment and soon found one near the end of the long train. They put their trunks under their seats and all settled in to discuss the upcoming year. Soon other seventh year Gryffindors began joining their group. Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, and Seamus Finnigan came in shortly into the conversation all taking seats around the group. Next came Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, who sat near Hermione and Ginny. The conversation had the comfortable feel that a conversation has when it is being held between long-time friends.

Over the years, with the impending war and closeness the Dumbledore and the other professors had encouraged, the houses had become much closer. Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs had slowly started doing things together, like projects and weekend activities, and although same-house relationships were still the strongest, the three houses had united together, ensuring a tight bond in the next war. Slytherin, however, remained alone. The other houses believed that their opinions and actions had gone too far and that their behavior was unacceptable.

Thus the Griffindors were a close bunch and they sat in their compartment, eating, laughing, and enjoying each others' company together. They told their stories of summer (Quidditch, lounging, and eating), joked around, and eagerly awaiting their arrival at the school.

--

_In a compartment further up the train..._

Draco Malfoy sat in his compartment, similar to the way the Griffindors sat in their compartment. Next to Draco on one side was his longtime best friend, Blaise Zabini. On the other side was Pansy Parkinson who was clinging tightly to his left arm as he had long since given up trying to shake her off.

Crabbe and Goyle also sat near by, but closer to the door in case of the need to beat up an intruder. Millicent Bulstrode and Theodore Nott sat together, Nott's arm around the ugly girl's shoulders. There was little conversation and what conversation there was, was short, harsh, and mostly about the Dark Side or making fun of people.

Draco was bored out of his mind, apart from thinking about Granger's new hot body and the strange reminder she gave him of his dream, and glanced at the expensive watch on his left wrist. 11:56. He thought the he should start making his was towards the Head Compartment and, yanking his arm from Pansy's grasp, stood up and left the compartment for the Head's meeting in the train's front compartment.

--

_Back with the Griffindors..._

Harry Potter, though he tried hard to focus on the conversion at hand, was having a difficult time. Although he was fairly sure no one else had seen it, when he walked through the barrier into the wizarding world, it was all he could do not to crush Malfoy's throat. All the boy had done between the time Hermione walked through the barrier seconds before him, until she had boarded the train in front of him, was stare at her.

Stare at _his_ best friend.

Harry didn't know what was going on, but he knew it couldn't be good.

--

_What do you guys think? I don't really like it, but I didn't want to leave the story with only the first chapter. I'm sorry that this has taken so long. I'm very rarely inspired to write, but I do my best. Thank you all for the reviews!_


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